We are beginning our set of articles for startups in online dating. Here is the first one – How to Begin…

Nowadays everyone is an entrepreneur. Startups appear every day. The types of ventures vary, but a couple of really good ideas survive, get funding or just go viral overnight. It’s up to you which type of online business to choose. First of all it should fill in the need and provide the value to your future users. Thus a lot of startups are looking towards online dating and social discovery spheres.

If you chose online dating, see if you can build an exclusive dating site to gather a unique group of singles. There are many dating site builders which will help you launch quickly. Use lean startup and pivot later on. All you need really at the beginning is a good business plan and clear direction.
Then you can choose a dating website template quite easy. You can check Templatemonster.com, Graphicriver.net or check the free templates that usually go with ready-made dating scripts on the market. They may fit your idea and save a lot money and time.

Then don’t forget to get answers for a simple question “Where’s the money?” Most of the scripts have in-build monetization features already. You can earn with memberships offering wider range of activities at a dating site: chats, IM, kisses, gifts and the kind. If you have a unique monetization scheme, make sure you get open source code to modify it to fit your plans.

Don’t forget about branding – a good name can make it viral. It’s important you check the domain’s availability. I believe almost all dictionary word domains have been taken long ago. So be creative or prepare to pay more for the domain name you want. In addition, once you have the name, try to grab it in all popular social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, create LinkedIn group and join like-minded groups. There’s more to be said about social media promotion. You need to be sure you have a site blog or news section to promote it in other social media channels.

In general, just start doing it. Starting a dating site is just a beginning. Getting members is more difficult and rewarding. Start with a good dating site builder, detailed business plan and you will get to your goal.